Thinking of a thicker putter grip?

A good putter has a kind of symbiotic relationship with their putter. Putter grips have undergone a big change in the last five years and its no coincidence that the trend is heading toward thicker grips, they can:

Using a thicker putter grip can help:

Reduce tension

Help promote a pendulum swing.

To have a better feel off the club

Makes it easier to steady your hands

Reduce wrist impact

More dominant torso

We take a look at why the putter grip is so important and what to look for and the different type of grips:

The 5 types of putter grips to choose from

Pistol Grips

Round Grips

Flat Grips

Parallel Grips

Jumbo Grips

When did you last make a change with your putter?

When was the last time you changed putters? Last week, last month or some time in the last year? There are so many different putters around that it can seem quite a challenge just choosing which ones to try out, let a lone buy.

But have you ever thought that perhaps all that’s needed is a change of putter grip? Much less expensive than compiling a museum-sized collection of putters and you may actually find out that your putter is fine it’s the grip that’s the problem.

Using the wrong putter grip will kill your game

Using the wrong putter grip could well be hurting your game and your score in a way that changing your putter cannot solve. At the very heart of putting is the simple goal of holing out in as few strokes as possible. The method you use might mimic the hundreds of differing ways that the tour pros use, or it could be one entirely your own.

According to Sean Foley, the exact method you use shouldn’t matter so long as it helps keep the wrists still during the stroke. And this is where considering a grip change might work out best for you. No matter how you grip your putter, the key to creating a consistent roll (and consistent results) is by using a stroke that is dominated by the torso and upper body which creates a pendulum-like stroke on the ball.

The hands DO move but the wrists don’t impact upon the stroke. Some golfers have little difficulty in maintaining still, or quiet, wrists. For others too much wrist movement can be altering the club face on impact and be the cause for agony over short putts.

This is because any kind of hinging and unhinging of the wrists can cause a putt to begin its journey on a path you had not intended and end up missing the target. Changing to a thicker or a specific shaped putter grip can help lessen this wrist impact through the stroke and enable a better, more consistent roll on the ball.

“As long as your grip makes it easy to minimize wrist action, then I say go for it” Sean Foley.

A thicker grip can help align the hips and the body to enable the torso to be more dominant during putting.

It is also a fact that a thicker putter grip encourages the bigger arm muscles to dominate, reducing the impact of twitchy wrists. Without wanting to change putters it might be that changing the grip can help. The putter grip is an important part of your equipment, it is the one point that attaches you to the club, even the size of your hands have a bearing on what grip is right.

There are so many different putters around that it can seem quite a challenge just choosing which ones to try. But have you ever thought that perhaps all that’s needed is a change of putter grip? Much less expensive than compiling a museum-sized collection of putters.

Standard or Pistol (1.0-1.2″ dia.)

The most common putter grip usually has a flat top surface and a rounded back. Many pistol grips have a taper, getting thinner towards the bottom of the grip. In the past many pros have built up the lower part of the grip with more tape, believing that a thinner grip can tend to cause putts to ‘hook’.

Increasingly, grip manufacturers have made putter grips more uniform in thickness, reducing or eliminating the taper completely and even employing a different shape such as SuperStroke’s hexagonal design or completely round grips from Winn or GolfPride. The idea is that the lower hand is in a much more comfortable (natural) position.

Oversize or Jumbo (upto 1.75″ dia.)

Established on the market for some time now is the oversize putter grip. One of the most popular is the Fatso 5.0 (1.67″ dia.) the largest in the SuperStroke line, a straight round grip with no taper that compliments a “straight-back, straight-through” putting technique as it encourages the bigger muscles in the arms to grip it, much like holding a cricket or baseball bat.

Equally popular is the Two-Thumb putter grip (1.61″ wide) which has a large flat face designed to be gripped with parallel hands (both thumb placed side by side on the grip) ensuring that the shoulders and body also remain parallel during the stroke.

Midsize Putter Girps (1.3-1-4″ dia.)

Like the standard grip only thicker, these have become very popular with tour players looking to reduce the tension in their hands. This thicker grip can either be traditionally pistol shaped or employ a more rounded shape like the Winnpro X 1.32″ creating more feel and minimising wrist movement.

There is also SuperStroke’s parallel design in its Slim 3.0, slightly wider on the face than the side that allows for even pressure in both hands, eliminating added tension in the wrist and forearms further enhancing a pendulum-like putting stroke.

“The current USGA size limit for putter grips is 1.75″“

The key to good putting is to keep those wrists nice and steady.

With technology making materials more durable and lighter, thicker grips can help golfers, especially those with bigger hands and impatient wrists, where it really matters – on the putting surface. If you would like to see where your putting is, before you invest in a new putter, arrange a visit to see us and take a look at our SAM Putting Lab. We can assess what’s happening with your putting stroke, give you a reason as to why you are missing and help you hole more putts.

Some golfers have little difficulty in maintaining still, or quiet, wrists. For others too much wrist movement can be altering the club face on impact and be the cause for agony over short putts. This is because any kind of hinging and unhinging of the wrists can cause a putt to begin its journey on a path you had not intended and end up missing the target.

Changing to a thicker or a specific shaped putter grip can help lessen this wrist impact through the stroke and enable a better, more consistent roll on the ball. A thicker grip can help align the hips and the body to enable the torso to be more dominant during putting. It is also a fact that a thicker putter grip encourages the bigger arm muscles to dominate, reducing the impact of twitchy wrists.

Without wanting to change putters it might be that changing the grip can help. The putter grip is an important part of your equipment, it is the one point that attaches you to the club, even the size of your hands have a bearing on what grip is right.

There are so many different putters around that it can seem quite a challenge just choosing which ones to try.

But have you ever thought that perhaps all that’s needed is a change of putter grip? Much less expensive than compiling a museum-sized collection of putters.

How the Sam Putt Lab Can Improve Your Putting

The SAM PuttLab is as critical to a Tour Professional’s game as their coach is, even Tiger Woods owns one. Why? It’s because golf is a game of such small margins and nowhere is this truer than on the putting green. There are many ways to putt but the golf ball itself relies only on physics to determine where it goes.

All golfers play with a certain amount of feel. Sometimes relying on feel isn’t enough. Bring the putter head back a fraction of a degree off path and it can result in a putt many inches off line, even when a golfer ‘feels’ that everything is working correctly. The SAM PuttLab answers the question of what the putter is doing during the stroke, meaning you can identify your strengths and weaknesses so we can tailor more efficient training – resulting in more holed putts!

The technology involves ultrasound sensory analysis and up to 150 frames per second of image capture, measuring and analysing all movement details of your putting (and chipping too). It is more exact than any other putting aid.

The SAM PuttLab measures important factors such as:

Alignment

Overall putter path

Impact location

Blade rotation

Length of stroke

Acceleration

Deceleration

Tempo

It then displays these parameters and more (28 of them in total) in a way you and your coach can understand. Giving you individual feedback on your putting strokes. The analysis reveals even the smallest details of your movements. This data can then be used to help develop practise or training strategies to improve your putting.

Have you ever wondered why you have a tendency to pull the ball left of the hole when putting? It could be that the putter face is closed at impact or that the path of the club varies during the stroke. By analysing your putting stroke, the frustration of missed putts and the question of ’why did my putt do that?’ can be eliminated.

In the same way TrackMan helps analyse the physics of hitting the golf ball, the SAM PuttLab identifies the relationship the putter head has over whether the ball disappears in to the hole or not. It means you can visualise what the putter head does during the stroke. Which has a massive effect on where the ball ultimately goes.

The SAM PuttLab has also helped develop one of the most successful studies on the yips. Helping coaches and professionals identify where in the putting stroke the ’twitch’ or jerky movement happens and helping develop coaching methods to counter it. Getting help with increasing distance off the tee is a great confidence boost to your game and can help improve your scoring. But if this isn’t backed up with great putting you could be missing out on holing a lot of feel-good birdie putts.

Putting is an area of your game you will use, regardless of your ability, somewhere between 30-40 times per round. Improving your putting can improve your scores dramatically. If you want to make more putts this year, contact us on 0161 478 5620

“A good player, who is a great putter, is a match for any golfer. A great hitter, who cannot putt, is a match for no one” – Ben Sayers

Improve Putting Now With This Technique

Missing Left

If your eyes are outside the target line (leaning over too far), you will see the hole as being left of where it actually is and you’ll miss a well-stroked putt to the left.

Missing Right

If your eyes are inside the target line (standing up too straight), you will see the hole as being right of where it really is and you’ll miss a well=stroked putt to the right.

Holing More Putts (Cures)

To check your eye line is over the ball in set up, hand a putter from beside your eyes, if the bottom of the putter hangs over the ball you know your eye line is correct.

Set your putter directly behind the ball so that it is square to the target.

Align your feet, knees, hips and shoulder line parallel left of the target line.

When you grip the putter, allow your hands to hang down naturally so that they are directly below your shoulders. This puts your arms and hands for a straight back and through stroke.

The Golf School

Please contact us if you require more information. We offer golfer’s help with their game 7 days a week helping golfers from across the North West to achieve the golf swing that they want. You can use the contact form, send us an e-mail or give us a ring during regular business hours. If we don’t get back to you right away we’re probably teaching.

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